The TRIP Festival returns this year from the Corona break – from 12.-14. May 2022. We spoke to one of the curators and are giving away tickets.
TRIP Festival was one of the first glimmers of hope earlier this year – heralding a vibrant and exciting live event in the midst of the winter blues and omicron wave. At a time when nobody really wanted to believe in it. But now the time has come and the anticipation is growing accordingly.
The festival has been around since 2018. Started as a 1-day event in changing locations, TRIP has focused on great musical diversity from the start – hip-hop alongside post-rock, house alongside experimental.
The festival is curated by Annihilate, a project by Niclas Kliebisch, who “lives out his little passion for everything to do with music and culture.” It doesn’t matter whether it’s releases and bookings for other bands or organizing local concerts and club nights.
In recent years, the network around Annihilate has grown steadily – the contacts to agencies, locations and other cultural workers are now so extensive that the TRIP was ready for the next step: for the first time in 2022 it will take place on three days and in three locations. How this came about and what awaits us, Niclas tells us in a glad glad interview:
Hey Niclas, da TRIP is entering its fifth round this year – if you’ve missed it so far: what makes the festival so special musically and conceptually?
Conceptually, we attach particular importance to the interaction of the musical accompaniment in combination with the visualization by artists. Both are rethought for each set and each location. The TRIP actually always takes place in a different location. After the long break we decided to extend it and do it in three different places over three days. Musically, it’s usually very diverse, but the coming edition has a more electronic line-up, which then leads to a club night at Conne Island as well.
Was it always a dream to play in several locations?
In the beginning we wanted to create a festival that only lasts one day but still has the potential to grow. After the Corona break and the growth of the network, we wanted to see how far we can go. In fact, it turned out to be three days.
What criteria do you use to select the musicians and artists?
We think about a kind of dramaturgy in the context of the respective location and see what fits musically and visually. Always with the thought of a little trip. Then of course the situation depends on the booking: In May there is a small gap between festivals and the strong tour months of March and April. But we only noticed that later. Nevertheless, the line-up has become super round and has become a great mix of international, national and local acts.
We were also careful to book gender balanced, which isn’t too difficult as is often claimed.
Beforehand you also meant something about a sustainable approach – what exactly does that mean?
The sustainable approach lies with us in all “production steps”. It starts with booking, where we focus on bands that are already touring and don’t need fly-ins – the acts travel by train. It then extends to the agreements with the respective locations to use regional catering and little plastic in the bar operation.
A well-functioning network is important for such claims, which enables short distances and quick agreements. In addition, long-term planning is important, because experience shows that unsustainable organizing is mainly reflected in short-term action. We are independent organizers, which means we have to adapt to the respective locations and it is therefore not yet possible for us to always organize 100 percent sustainably.
Has the corona-related break changed anything in the planning and curating of the festival?
Yes, as mentioned above, there are gaps in bookings every year, as well as the lack of security for international acts. In fact, that’s how we had to curate. It is largely booked in a corona-compliant manner, meaning above all European acts where neither they nor we have too much damage in the event of a cancellation or a tour failure.
Another is the boom in events, which brings with it the fear of not getting the guests you need. Therefore, a good or well-known line-up must be presented. But the result is still great for us. It’s a wild mix of bigger acts and lots of lesser known acts that will please many.
What is your personal highlight at this year’s edition?
In my opinion, the line-up is perfect and fits every idea that we had for the respective days. On Saturday I think Catnapp will all leave and the party will start when Taxi Kebab comes on stage. Zanias and the UT turns epic on day two. I’m really looking forward to the dramaturgy of each evening.
TRIP – das Line-up
May 12, 2022, 8 p.m. – Institute for the Future
Dengue Dengue Dengue, Jacqueline Boom Boom
May 13, 2022, 8:30 pm – UT Connewitz
Zanias, Ider, Shari Vari, Shikoba – Visuals by Wert Kollektiv
14. May 2022, 18 Uhr – Conne Island
Billboard: Gwenifer Raymond, Diraque, Valeska
Indoor: Catnapp, WaqWaq Kingdom, Taxi Kebab, Don’t DJ, Love-Songs & U. Schütte, Carlotta Jacobi
BUY TICKETS
We are giving away …
Yes, we are giving away 2 x 2 tickets for each day of this year’s TRIP festival. If you want to take part, send an email to dance @ gladfroh.de by May 9, 2022 with the subject “Wanna TRIP again”. The winners will be notified via email. Please also indicate which day you want to go.
Source: https://www.frohfroh.de/38312/frohfroh-praesentiert-trip
